Debts Repaid
by MorganLeFay33
Summary: Sanctuary Downton Abbey Crossover, set some time around Series 1 of Downton. Thomas Barrow - with the help of Sarah O'Brien, Vera Bates, and Jack the Ripper - seeks revenge on Helen Magnus for the murder of his close relatives, Adam and Imogene Worth. Rated T for slightly violent stuff!
1. Chapter 1

**Debts Repaid**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**_At the Drop of a Name_**

* * *

O'Brien knew something wasn't right as soon as the news reached Thomas. She would have noticed even if he'd tried to hide it more, but something clearly was overpowering him as he sat there, gripping his utensils in either hand, glowering over his meal. She found him out by the back sheds that afternoon, struggling to smoke the cigarette he held in his trembling hands. Anyone else would have comforted him, would have asked if he needed anything. Not Sarah O'Brien.

"Care to explain?" She lit her own cigarette and stared him straight in the eye. "You've been acting funny all day. Out with it."

"I thought she was dead."

"Who?"

He looked at her in frenzied incredulousness, irrationally expecting her to just know. "Who? That _bloody _woman! The one Lady Rosamund has so casually invited to dine with her and her Ladyship next week." He gritted his teeth, body shaking more with each second, trying to contain the rage that threatened to explode. "She's a murderer – a bloody _murderer_!"

O'Brien laughed dismissively. "The doctor? It is odd for her to be a doctor, but...Magnus, they said her name was? I thought doctors were supposed to be the opposite of murderers."

"It's not a joke," he hissed at her. "I'd wanted find her for so long, to make her _pay_ for what she's done…" he trailed off, his cheeks damp with furious tears.

O'Brien took a step backwards, finally deciding, for her own good, to take his rage seriously. "What did she do?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"My cousin, Imogene, she was so kind and clever and innocent…if you'd only known her…" he sniffed, unceremoniously wiping his nose on his sleeve before continuing, "That monster _murdered _her. She was _dying_…of a rare blood disease and Helen Magnus had the _fucking _cure, right there, in her bloody hands!" He stopped for a moment, clenching his fists. "She refused to give it to her, just stood there and watched her die, like an…" He began to cry more heavily.

O'Brien did not move to his aid. She simply stood still, still watching him in fascination. "Technically, that's not murder," she replied bluntly.

"She shot my uncle! Imogene's father! Shot him! In broad daylight! No one saw it, but everyone knows it!" He was practically screaming now, a mess of tears and snot and trembling limbs. "I'll kill her! I'll _kill her_!"

"Surely that's not a good idea," O'Brien replied quietly.

He buried his face in his hands, sobbing.

She tentatively reached out to pat him on the back. "I'm sorry." It was not the most compassionate declaration of sympathy, but it was the best she could do, and he knew it.

"I loved them. They treated me better than my own parents, almost raised me like I was one of their own…she's an evil woman who deserves to die, and I'll bloody well kill her."

O'Brien rolled her eyes and took a lazy drag of her cigarette. "Don't be stupid. If you're going to do it, don't get your hands dirty. Find someone to do the job for you."

"W-what?" He gazed at her in surprise, his mouth agape.

"I said, if that's your plan, it's a stupid one. Find someone else to do it."

Still dumbfounded by her blasé willingness to help him, he asked, "But…who?"

She threw her cigarette down on the ground, roughly putting it out with the heel of her boot. "I know someone. I'll send a telegram today."

* * *

He appeared like clockwork, whooshing into the room in his usual slithery, refined, graceful manner. By the time she turned around to see him leaning casually against her fireplace, Vera Bates already had her revolver loaded and aimed at his head.

"You rang?" John Druitt asked mischievously. "I wish you wouldn't point that at me every time, my dear. You make a terrible hostess."

"Consider it a precaution," she sneered.

He drew his blade out of his pocket, and it glimmered in the firelight as he twirled it around in his hands. "Nonetheless, it's not very nice," he said with a playful pout. He sat down in the chair across from where she stood, crossing his legs nonchalantly.

"Is that what the whores say to you before you slit their throats?" Vera winked at him and broke into a loud cackle. He laughed along in his low, velvety voice. Had anyone been watching them, they might have assumed them to be brother and sister, sharing the same raven hair, the same sharp tongue, the same penetrating gaze.

"I want seventy percent this time," he asserted. "No more of this fifty-fifty nonsense. I'm the one who does the work."

"You'll do what I tell you to do," Vera snapped, keeping her eye and her gun equally fixed on him. "You and I both know you'd do it for free, you sick bastard."

He chuckled darkly. "You do make a very good point, my beautiful flower."

"You're moving up in the world this time. Congratulations. A doctor."

"Hmm?" He raised his eyebrows, appearing mildly interested. "And who might this be?"

She waved the telegram in front of him, replying, "Her name is Helen Magnus. She'll be a guest of Rosamund Painswick for dinner in Belgravia next week. As usual, I'll…" She noticed a strange expression cross his face and she stopped talking. "What?"

His eyes lost their homicidal twinkle for a moment, suddenly growing serious. "I won't do it."

Vera snorted in contempt. "You do as I say."

"I won't do it!" He bellowed, making her jump slightly.

She regained her composure, not entirely convinced that she'd even lost it in the first place, and replied indignantly, "Fine. If you don't do it, you know I have a list. I'll find someone to replace you, and that'll be it."

He seemed truly pained, his eyes shifting nervously back and forth. "I'll do it," he said finally.

Holding the barrel of the gun to his temple, Vera walked around to his side and stroked his hair approvingly. "Good boy."

He didn't mind it, the feeling of her hands on him. In the brief moments when he was able to contain himself, the familiar memory of Helen's touch would seep into his brain, but the rage would return before sadness could threaten to consume him. Better to do away with her himself, he thought, rather than leave her fate to a stranger.

* * *

_So what did you think? Good? Bad? Terrible? If anyone gave enough of a damn to read this, how was it? If anyone likes it enough, I'll keep it going!_

_xoxo,_

_Morgana_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**_Captive_**

* * *

It was odd, O'Brien thought, that Helen Magnus's maid should accompany her to dine with Lady Rosamund when the doctor lived in London herself and clearly had no need to spend the night there.

She looked over at the girl, watching her skittish movements and wishing she didn't have to continue talking with her. She was pretty enough, with light yellow hair and watery blue eyes, but other, more obvious traits overshadowed it all. "What do you mean 'give sanctuary'?" O'Brien asked, pretending to sound only mildly interested.

"There are so many of us who are grateful to her for all she's done - for those of us who are different, you see. Without her kindness, I'd have no home."

O'Brien gulped, forcing herself to stop from second-guessing the choice she had made. "Different how?"

The younger woman shrugged in embarrassment and pointed to her back. The other lady's maid had no need for an explanation. She'd noticed it from the start - a strange pair of lumps extending like mountains, so much so that her dress had clearly been altered to accommodate them. She looked almost like a hunchback.

The idea came to her. "Miss Ellwood," she lowered her voice and feigned humility, trying to seem uncomfortable with the question she was about to ask. "I was wondering if you might introduce me to the doctor. I never knew that…Well, I think I might be different too. I've never told anyone before."

The younger woman's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"It's my legs," O'Brien continued in a hushed voice. "If she'd take only a moment to see me, it would mean so much."

Ellwood patted the other woman's hand affectionately, her eyes filling with a knowing compassion. "Surely, she will."

* * *

It was amazing where a bit of feigned shyness could get her. She'd followed instructions carefully, managing to lure the doctor outside of the door to the kitchens. O'Brien stood there in the empty, enclosed space, turning herself around carefully so that the doctor was facing away from the gate.

"Scales, you say? How very odd."

The lady's maid nodded, peering around the corner anxiously. She wouldn't be able to get away with this much longer. After what Druitt had told her and Vera, she knew there would be no way to stand up for herself in a physical confrontation against this woman.

Her beauty had surprised O'Brien. Considering the story Thomas had told, the woman must have been a very young murderer. It made O'Brien hate her all the more.

"Let's have a look then," Helen said gently, clearly used to encouraging her nervous patients.

O'Brien nearly sighed with relief at the sight of Vera's dark head bobbing up and down in silence behind the doctor. She lifted her skirts slowly, watching as their unannounced visitor crept up closely behind Helen.

In what seemed like less than a second, the deed was done, and the doctor was lying unconscious in Vera's arms, the handkerchief still covering her face. She'd only struggled for an instant - Vera had been strong enough to manage that at least.

Vera cackled in delight as they dragged her to the car to tie and gag her. Once they had thrown her into the back and locked it firmly shut, O'Brien immediately held out her hand.

"I want my money, and I want it now."

"So impatient!" Vera replied with a mocking wink.

O'Brien stood there, payment in hand, watching them drive off and wondering what in the hell she had just done.

* * *

Thomas drove like a madman, hardly able to see with his cap pulled so far down over his face. He felt as if he were about to be sick.

Vera noticed his pained expression and snapped, "Get a hold of yourself."

He nodded in terror, unable to believe that he'd really gone through with this.

After a few minutes, she awoke, and they could hear her kicking and yelling through her binds. Thomas's hands began to shake and he could hardly grip the wheel.

Vera stared at him with little sympathy and remarked bluntly, "Too late to change your mind. Don't worry – you can pay your respects and then leave before you have to see any blood spilled."

* * *

"Where is Doctor Magnus?" Ellwood asked in confusion at the sight of O'Brien returning to the servants' hall alone.

"Come with me," she replied softly, curling her finger and ordering her to follow.

The young woman stood up obediently, trying to keep up with O'Brien's brisk walk

"What is this place?" she asked when they arrived in the small room.

"Sit with me," O'Brien instructed in a falsely benevolent tone. Once again, she obeyed without question.

"What? What are you doing!" Ellwood cried, realizing that the other lady's maid had not sat down and was instead tying her to her own chair.

"It's for the best. You'll thank me later," O'Brien responded, casually tightening the scarf that now covered the other woman's mouth.

Ellwood was nowhere near strong enough to put up a fight. It was all too easy to leave her there, gagged and bound in the basement room that only Miss Shore had seemed to know about.

O'Brien calmly watched her as she struggled in her chair. "You'd best save your energy. It's for your own good. I won't hurt you. You're just leverage now. You'll be free after this. I'll return in an hour or so."

She locked the door behind her, reminding herself that there would be no going back now.

* * *

_I'd like to continue this with two or three more chapters. If you're worried about Helen Magnus, just take a second to think about the fact that this is HELEN MAGNUS. You need not worry. It's going to get much more interesting for ALL parties involved, and hopefully Tesla will join in the fun! :-)_

_Xoxo,_

_Morgana_


End file.
